If you want to wash a plate, do not immediately put the whole kitchen under water. Researchers have now applied this insight to the air conditioning in the car.
In winter and in summer, electric cars are particularly hard. Then not only the engine, but also heating or air conditioning sucks the battery dead. At the Technical University, the alternative to hot and cold air blowers has been developed with the “close-to-body air conditioning”.
Instead of cooling air and directing it through a fan into the interior, only the seats are tempered. So-called Peltier elements can be quickly heated and cooled with low energy input. These semiconductor devices are known, among other things, from cool boxes or CPU coolers in the computer. Their climate effect in the car seat is perceived as pleasant by the researchers and makes it cooled seats, so that at least at moderate temperatures on a total cooling of the interior can be dispensed with.
Climate can be switched on
In the case of high heat or severe cold, an air conditioner could be switched on, which also uses Peltier elements instead of the classic compressor. Finally, for particularly frosty days, the researchers foresee the use of a bio-ethanol burner, which works without battery power and does not affect the range. At the same time, intelligent electronic heat management should make the use of air conditioning more effective and use to makes the seats ac seats. In the summer, residual cold from the air conditioning system could be used to cool the battery and power electronics. In winter, the waste heat from the electric drive could be used for heating purposes. In principle, the technology can be used not only for e-cars, but also for vehicles with conventional drive. There it could reduce the fuel consumption.
Display
The new air-conditioning technology or you can say seat coolers in cars will be presented to the public soon. It is part of the research project, in which, in addition, numerous car manufacturers, suppliers and technology companies are involved.